SIMMINE 1.0: A simulation model for subsurface mining operations

SIMMINE 1.0 is a discrete event computer simulation of the salt mining operations of a typical subpanel of a geological high-level nuclear waste repository. The program models the major equipment used to mine the underground emplacement rooms in the repository. This equipment includes the miner, the shuttle cars (haulers), the feeder/breaker unit (tailpiece), and the roofbolter. Breakdown and repair features are included in the model. The model can also represent the simulation graphically using SIMANIMATION, a graphics package available with PC SIMSCRIPT II.5. Input data sets can be modified with DATAMINE, a simple, menu-driven, front-end. The applications of the techniques and principles of discrete event simulation to the design of automated industrial manufacturing technologies have been exhaustively discussed in several texts. The practice of simulation involves creating physical entities and generating events by means of stochastic samplings from well-known statistical distributions. The temporal flow of the created entities through the system under study is tracked by the simulation model to identify possible sources of queue formations that may lead to the development of costly bottlenecks in the system. The ultimate goal of the simulation model is the optimal allocation of the required mining resources for any desired subsurface panel layout. 13 refs., 17 figs